Local Technology Provides High A/C Efficiency

Local Technology Provides High A/C Efficiency

A federal appeals court decided Jan. 13 to keep higher energy-efficiency standards for central air conditioners in place. The department of Energy had sought to lower the manufacturer’s requirement to increase efficiency standards from 30 to 20 percent by 2006 after the air conditioning industry complained it would be too costly. The decision to keep a higher standard will help power producers and the environment by reducing the amount of electricity consumed for air conditioning.

New technology developed here in Colorado will help manufactures meet the new standards while keeping the price affordable for consumers. The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden has tested an air conditioner developed by the Coolerado in Arvada that is much more efficient that the 2006 standards.

Rick Gillan, President of the Coolerado said: “If everyone in the air conditioning industry used this technology today, the DOE could increase the air condition efficiency standard by 100 percent, instead of 30, without causing any hardship.” For now, however, only Coolerado is manufacturing an air conditioner that utilizes the technology.

This past summer, the Colorado Governor’s Office of Energy Management and Conservation partnered with Coolerado to do the first commercial demonstration of the cooling technology at Mt. Saint Vincent School in northwest Denver. The installed system demonstrates that it uses 80.2 percent less power than the ubiquitous vapor compression system, and 36 percent less power than an evaporative cooler.

OEMC Deputy Director Ed Lewis said: “OEMC supports emerging energy technologies that are more efficient and can improve the quality of life for Coloradoans. Colorado’s warm months are more frequently creating a large demand on electricity for cooling systems, and by increasing energy efficiency, we will put less strain on the electrical grid and further reduce pollutants.”

The concept of the Coolerado Cooler was invented by Russian immigrant Dr. Valeriy Maisotsenko and refined by a team of local engineers and businessmen. No chemical refrigerants such as Freon are used in this cooler, making it even more environmentally friendly.

Maisotsenko said: “Coolerado gets its cooling energy by using water as a fuel. A fan required to move the cool air into the building is the only item in the cooler that draws significant electrical power.”

Lee Gillan, lead development engineer on the project, said: “The amount of water the Coolerado Cooler uses is about half the amount an evaporative cooling system would use to cool the same space but rivals the cold air provided by standard air condition systems. Another advantage is that no moisture is added to the air entering the building, unlike an evaporative cooler.”

Coolerado Coolers are manufactured locally and are available for both commercial and residential buildings.
For more information go to the following sites:
• Coolerado Cooler: www.coolerado.com or call Rick Gillan at 303-375-0878
• OEMC: www.state.co.us/oemc or call Megan Castle at 303-894-2383
• NREL: call George Douglas, Media Relations at 303-275-4096